On December 16, 2024 the Boundary County Board of County Commissioners passed resolution 2025-4, establishing the Agriculture Protection Area (APA), in compliance with Idaho Code § 67-9705. The APA creates an opportunity and procedures to establish agricultural protection areas to allow landowners to voluntarily designate their agriculture lands for protection and preservation, and provide a process to expand, terminate, or remove lands from a protection area. The board now seeks individuals interested serving on the APA Commission. This commission, appointed by the BOCC, will consist of five members, who are actively employed by or supporting production agriculture in the county.
- The Board of Commissioners shall appoint five members actively employed by or supporting production agriculture in the county to serve on the county’s Agricultural Protection Area Commission. Members may include representatives from the local soil and water conservation district board of supervisors, the local cattlemen’s association board, the county farm bureau board, an irrigation district or water users association board, or a grower/commodity association or commission board, to serve as the Agricultural Protection Area Commission for the county.
- Terms of office for the commission shall be: For the first appointed members to the newly created commission, two members shall be appointed to four-year terms and three shall be appointed to six-year terms. Thereafter, terms shall be set at six years.
- As part of the duties, the commission shall provide for meeting and hearings to obtain advice on the agricultural needs of the county. The commission may also conduct informal meetings with public officials and agencies, agricultural professionals, educational professionals, and other organizations to evaluate the agricultural needs of the county.
- The commission may make recommendations to the board of county commissioners concerning the process by which the agricultural protection area commission will accept, review, and offer recommendations regarding agricultural protection area proposals to the board of county commissioners, including the nature and type of information provided by the applicants and the evaluation criteria required to review agricultural protection area applications.
- The commission shall review applications for inclusion in an agricultural protection area pursuant to the county agricultural protection area ordinance and make recommendations to the board of county commissioners regarding such applications.
Letters of interest and personal credentials are due by close of business on January 15, 2025. Individual appointments will be scheduled for a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners soon afterwards.
Forms can be:
- Mailed to: P. O. Box 419, Bonners Ferry, Id 83805
- Faxed to: 208-267-7814
- Emailed to: commissioners@boundrycountyid.org
- Delivered to: 6452 Kootenai St, Room 23 Bonners Ferry